One and done.
The Cincinnati Bengals cut defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins on Friday.
The move was expected after Rankins played only seven games in 2024 after he was signed to fill the role of the departed D.J. Reader.
Rankins played only seven games, missing the second half of the season with an illness. The illness was unknown until ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Rankins was dealing with viral meningitis. Rankins being cut will free up $9.6 million in salary cap space as the Bengals aim to retain their star players this spring.
The Bengals will still need to address the interior of their defensive line this offseason, with only second-year players Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson set to return.
Most people who follow the team saw this coming and supported the move, but it is no secret that the Bengals may need to look for not only one but two starting-level defensive tackles in free agency or the draft.
Do you think the Bengals made the right call?
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Rankins being let go.
#Bengals releasing DT Sheldon Rankins saves $9.6M on the cap. Rankins, who signed a two-year free agency deal with Cincinnati last offseason, had a tough year while battling viral meningitis.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 21, 2025
The Rankins signing probably rankles the front office similarly to Antonio Bryant and Trae Waynes, if to a lesser degree. They paid him $14M for 7 games and he wasn’t a fit even in those games.
They’ll save up to $10.5M cash in 2025.
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) February 21, 2025
Bengals put in that Sheldon Rankins move EARLY (for them).
Need the $$$ for something. Wonder what…
— Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) February 21, 2025
Sheldon Rankins career highlights with the Bengals…. https://t.co/A3dQ1igoq1 pic.twitter.com/hXPjDuaPoC
— RC (34inXXIII) (@34inXXIII) February 21, 2025
EVERYONE is frustrated with how the Rankins experience went, but chill the hell out with attacking him. Meningitis is no joke. It’s not some conspiracy to get paid not to play. He’s not lazy. It’s not his agent trying to save face now. The dude was SICK. Have some damn compassion https://t.co/AsihmLILA6
— The Fantom Menace (@Matt_513Fantom) February 21, 2025
Everyone is making this a cap thing. They had so much cap space to begin with.
Cash is what matters. This helps pay higgins what he should earn this year as opposed to the tag. And in doing so you can minimize the cap hit anyways.
— John Sheeran (@John__Sheeran) February 21, 2025
The #Bengals are now up to about $62M in salary cap space.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) February 21, 2025
#Bengals release Sheldon Rankins in what was a 100% certainty after a failed year in Cincinnati.
Wrote this in our cap cuts piece this week pic.twitter.com/KgXQGU6xG2
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) February 21, 2025
Here’s a look at the Bengals cash and cap
I track each offseason, updated for the Rankins cut.These numbers account for the rookie pool and practice squad, which OTC and Spotrac don’t include right now.
$53.24M in cap space, about $103M in expected cash spending.
Also… pic.twitter.com/xSW3NBYnoP
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) February 21, 2025
